Digital cameras as we know them trace back to the mid‑1970s, with the first working digital still camera prototype built in 1975 by Kodak engineer Steven Sasson. Earlier ideas and patents for filmless or electronic cameras appeared in the early 1970s, but Sasson’s 1975 prototype is widely recognized as the first true digital camera.

Quick Scoop

  • The concept of a digital or “filmless” camera was described and patented in the early 1970s, including a 1972 patent by Texas Instruments for an electronic still camera idea.
  • In 1975 , Steven Sasson at Eastman Kodak built a bulky experimental digital still camera using a Fairchild CCD sensor, recording black‑and‑white images to cassette tape; this is generally cited as the invention of the first digital camera.
  • Through the late 1970s and early 1980s, companies like Sony and others developed electronic still cameras (such as the 1981 Mavica), helping move the industry from film toward digital imaging.

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